Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased by 0.8% during the year 2023 compared to the previous year 2022, according to estimates by the official General Authority for Statistics.
The data showed that oil activities decreased by 9.0%, while non-oil activities achieved a growth of 4.4%, and government activities achieved an increase of 2.1%. The Kingdom’s GDP contracted by 4.3% in the fourth quarter of the year.
Financial, insurance and business services activities achieved the highest annual growth rates during the last quarter of 2024, followed by wholesale and retail trade activities, restaurants, and hotels.
The growth of the country’s non-oil sector demonstrated Saudi Arabia’s efforts to implement Vision 2030 and transition its economy away from fossil fuels.
The GDP growth rates were calculated using a new chain-linking methodology, which is said to reflect real growth in GDP more accurately than fixed base-year methodologies. Saudi Arabia is the first country in the Gulf and Arab regions and among the first G20 countries to implement this methodology.
In February, Saudi Aramco announced it would no longer aim to increase its maximum sustainable capacity (MSC) to 13 million barrels per day (bpd), after receiving a directive from the Kingdom’s Energy Ministry.
Last month, the International Monetary Fund predicted that Saudi Arabia’s economy will grow by 2.7 % this year and by 5.5% in 2025. The prediction marked an increase from its previous estimate of 4.5%, issued in October 2023.
Currently, Saudi Arabia’s oil sector accounts for 42% of the country’s GDP.
